Liberation movements came into being across the entire African continent as a
political response to colonisation. However, Africa has in this field, as in so many
others, been largely understudied, in comparison to revolutionary movements in
South America and South East Asia. While many case studies on specific liberation
movements exist, very few are comparative in nature. This study will do precisely
that using the framework of Thomas H. Greene.
The resistance movements in South Africa and Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, consisted
of several organisations, but the ones that emerged as the most powerful and
significant in the two countries were the ANC and ZANU respectively. Although
their situations were similar in many ways, there were other factors that necessarily
led to two very different liberation struggles. This study looks closer at these factors,
why they were so, and what this meant for the two movements. It focuses on the
different characteristics of the movements, dividing these into leadership, support
base, ideology, organisation, strategies and external support. All revolutionary
movements rely on these factors to varying degrees, depending on the conditions they
are operating under. The ANC and ZANU both had to fight under very difficult and
different circumstances, with oppressive minority regimes severely restricting their
actions. This meant that the non-violent protests that initially were a great influence
for the leadership of both movements – especially with the successes of Mahatma
Gandhi in South Africa and India, inevitably had to give way to the more effective
strategies of sabotage and armed struggle. Like other African resistance movements,
nationalism was used as the main mobilising tool within the populations. In South
Africa the struggle against apartheid was more complex and multidimensional than in
Zimbabwe. Ultimately successful in their efforts, the ANC and ZANU both became
the political parties that assumed power after liberation. This study does not extend to
post-liberation problems.